INTERVIEW
MV AGUSTA PRESIDENT AND CEO GIOVANNI CASTIGLIONI: PART 2
P108
so now we don't need to invest
so much anymore.
Maybe not for the F3 mod-
els, but don't you now have a
new F4 four-cylinder platform
coming? This was supposed
to debut at the end of this
year at the EICMA Milan
Show. Will it still do so?
No, because the company
does not need it at the moment.
Moreover, right now we don't
need to maintain our high level of
investment in R&D at up around
20 percent of revenues or more,
because MV will be a profitable
company by leveraging what we
did over the last five years. We're
making a change in strategy
and calming down a bit in terms
of new models, because if we
produce 10 more new products,
for sure we will not sell 20,000
bikes. I'm making a change in
strategy and pulling back.
So has the new F4 been put
into the freezer indefinitely?
No, not indefinitely. We will
continue to work on it, but at this
particular time because of the
change in our strategy, we're
focusing on other segments in
the four-cylinder platform ahead
of this sportbike segment, be-
cause the hypersport market has
declined very much. You make a
big investment for a small volume
of sales, and anyway we believe
the current F4 is still a good
Superbike racer.
Will you produce a Turismo
Veloce F4?
We'll continue to work on our
core model F4 Brutale, since
this is financially profitable for
the company.
So will you have any new
models at the EICMA Milan
Show later this year?
Racing funding has been
dramatically cut back to put
more cash back into the
company coffers.
